“There is another way to do politics and that is what we are trying to find our way towards. It’s a politics of hope and solidarity and inclusion that is constantly looking for ways to expand the circle and include more people in solving the problems, and I think that our way works better.”
- Van Jones, Founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
Meet Van Jones, a young changemaker of color in Oakland, California. Right now, Van’s nonprofit is working with Congress to get a Clean Energy Jobs Bill passed to provide hundreds of millions of dollars to community colleges, vocational colleges and high schools, to start training young people up in the new green, clean economy. The idea is that by creating a “Green Jobs Corp”, and opportunities for young people to obtain “green collar jobs” involved in making California (and the rest of the country) more ecologically sustainable, we can help reduce the cycle of poverty and save our environment at the same time, especially in communities of color.
“…it is that quality of real reverence for life that will keep you from shooting somebody in the neighborhood, or that will keep you from destroying the planet environmentally based on your consumer choices. That ability to stand in awe and reverence for what a precious gift it is, just to be alive, and just to share this planet with so many other beautiful sister and brother species and nations and neighborhoods. Just that quality of reverence, that is really the gateway through which we can begin to rediscover our capacity to do good.”
I hope you are as inspired as I was when I read Britt Bravo‘s recent interview with Van on her blog, Have Fun, Do Good. He shares with Britt about his work and success with the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, as well as insight into his growth as a leader and founder/executive director.
“It’s a feeling of pride that you have when you start something. The Ella Baker Center was just a scribble in my notebook, and then Diana and I got a borrowed closet, literally, from a not-for-profit, and pulled out the shelves and stuck a desk in there, and ten-and-a-half years later we’ve got 24 people on staff and a 1.6 or 1.7 million dollar budget, and six attorneys, and a new ED. So, it’s pretty exciting.”
Read the entire interview here.
About Van:
Van Jones is working to combine solutions to America’s two biggest problems: social inequality and environmental destruction. In 1996, Van founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. Named for an unsung civil rights heroine, the Center promotes alternatives to violence and incarceration. As an advocate for the toughest urban constituencies and causes, Van has won many honors. These include the 1998 Reebok International Human Rights Award, the international Ashoka Fellowship, selection as a World Economic Forum “Young Global Leader,” and the Rockefeller Foundation “Next Generation Leadership” Fellowship. Van is also a national environmental leader, having served on the boards the National Apollo Alliance, Social Ventures Network, Rainforest Action Network, Bioneers and Julia Butterfly Hill’s “Circle of Life” organization. Van’s dual roles have given him a unique perspective on the country’s problems – and its potential solutions. He is calling for green economic development for urban America. The City of Oakland has adopted the Ella Baker Center’s “Green Jobs Corps” proposal, which will train youth for eco-friendly “green-collar jobs.” Now Van is pushing to create the first-ever Green Enterprise Zone, to attract environmentally-sound industry to Oakland.A 1993 Yale Law graduate, he is also a husband and father. A rising star, Van champions the most hopeful solutions to America’s toughest challenges.
